Neverland: The Most Wonderful Adventure

Chapter Twelve

Peter's mind drifted in and out of sleep. He knew he should get up; the Lost Boys would never let him live it down if he slept in. But he was so comfortable! He was about to allow himself to fall back into the blissfulness of sleep when he became aware of something soft and warm snuggled up against him. Peter was instantly awake and on alert.
He looked down; his hands were wrapped around something blue and brown. He watched the gentle rise and fall of breathing. It took him a moment to figure out that it was a person, and that the person was Cassandra.Peter's breath quickened, how did he get here? He closed his eyes and tried to recall anything that happened last night. With a sudden ferocity, his nightmare came surging to the front of his mind. Hook. Cassandra. Hook shot Cassandra. He subconsciously drew Cassandra closer to him. She stirred at the contact. Panicked that she would wake, Peter stilled. When Cassandra was fully claimed by sleep again, Peter's mind began to work overtime. But he couldn't concentrate being so close to Cassandra. His heart was pounding, his stomach was doing flip flops and his skin tingled where there was contact. And it scared him, because he liked holding Cassandra close. He liked the feeling that he could protect her from any danger when she was in his arms. And she seemed to fit there. It was as if something was missing and she filled it. 'It stirred feelings inside you Peter...' Hook was taunting him. Peter shook his head. No. Not feelings. He needed to get out of there. Now. As gently as he could, he forced himself to puy the sleeping Cassandra back in her bed. Before he left he glanced once more at her. She was safe. A small unfamiliar part of Peter almost wished he would be there when she woke up. To be the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes. But he banished those thoughts as quickly as they had come. They were dangerous thoughts. Peter flew out of his room and up to the top of the hideout to watch the sunrise. Breaking off a branch he sat down and began to mindlessly whittle at it. His conversation with Cassandra the night before played again in his mind.
When she had mentioned magic kisses and who gave those, a traitorous part had wanted to kiss her right then and there. Because he did care for her, she did mean the world to him, she did make his head spin. But then she had to go and mention 'Love.' The word scared him senseless and snapped him out of kissing her. 'Love,' 'feelings,' they were both dangerous, grownup words, and both Hook and Cassandra had said them. Though Cassandra had said it in one of her stories to the boys, her eyes held a long sparkle when she looked at him, and it both thrilled and terrified him. His heart pounded furiously when she was near him. His train of thought all but went out the window when she smiled at him. And she was in his happy thoughts constantly. He wanted to protect her, to make sure she was safe and happy. That wasn't love was it? What did it mean to love? What was love? Surely it must be a grownup thing. Children don't feel love, do they? Peter took a deep breath of morning air to calm his thoughts. In his nightmare Hook had said it with malice and used it to taunt him. Somehow in the dream Hook knew right where to strike at him. The dream Hook knew how much Cassandra meant to him and he had used it against Peter. Hook had used the words 'Love' and 'Feelings' to scare him. To show Peter that he was a coward. Because in the dream Peter realized that he did love Cassandra, and Hook turned it against him. Shooting Cassandra and causing such physical pain that Peter could still feel it. Peter rubbed the ache in his chest. It was just a dream, just a nightmare. He repeated this until the ache went away. Peter suddenly straightened. Realization hitting him over the head. It was just a dream! It wasn't real! And not all dreams needed to come true! He could make sure the feeling stopped. He could stop this ache. He could make sure that Hook never found out how he felt and make sure he could never use it against him! There were two choices. Choice one was to simply send Cassandra back home. But Peter couldn't do that. He would never condemn a child to grow up, and that's what he'd be doing if he sent her back, even if it was to protect her. Hook wouldn't be able to use Cassandra to get to him. The nightmare wouldn't ever come true! Peter would simply not let Cassandra out of his sight. That seemed to be the best choice. He was going to keep her safe, no matter what.